Study of Nonuniform Bedding Support Because of Erosion under Cast Iron Water Distribution Pipes
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 10
Abstract
Several recent studies have investigated failure mechanisms for cast iron water pipes. These studies have primarily focused on the adverse effects of corrosion, frost, reactive backfill, and earthquakes. It appears that leaking pressure pipes can produce erosion voids under the buried structure. In this paper, a parametric study employing three-dimensional finite-element analyses is used to examine buried, continuous, cast iron water pipes. The objective is to understand the effect of such erosion voids on the stability of buried cast iron pipes and the longitudinal soil-pipe interaction. The results of the finite-element analyses demonstrate that the radial () and the axial stresses () are low compared with the hoop stresses (), and the peak tension is always in the hoop direction. As a result of the high hoop stresses induced by the nonuniform bedding support, longitudinal fractures are likely to occur in the pipe, which may consequently cause pipe failure.
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Acknowledgments
Ms. Balkaya’s residence in Canada was funded by a grant from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). Analyses reported here were performed using the High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory at the Queen’s University. Support for use of that facility was provided by NSERC, and facility hardware was supplied by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ministry of Technology and Innovation, Ontario.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 10 • October 2012
Pages: 1247 - 1256
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 24, 2011
Accepted: Dec 19, 2011
Published online: Dec 23, 2011
Published in print: Oct 1, 2012
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